Thoughts on Fields from OSU insider
This post was not VIP and I am not a member of 247. Since anyone can view it on the Bucknuts 247 site, I thought it would be ok to post here.
BuckeyeBacker99 1225 posts
Aug 19, 1:03 PM
I have had a long history in the past of providing inside info to the board, some bits were popular, some were not, but I’ve always delivered the goods. My initial takes on Justin Fields were not received particularly well by the board and some mods, nonetheless it has recently finally been echoed by Ryan in his last two pressers.
I’ll paraphrase my spring thoughts on Fields and then go into my post-fall camp thoughts.
-In the spring when he transferred here I (and many people close to, on the team and coaching with the team) were very concerned at the unrealistic and insane hype surrounding Fields. Yes, he is a top ten all time QB coming out of HS. But he is also VERY raw and inexperienced with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He came into the spring not knowing the offense. He was slightly outplayed by Baldwin, it was not that he was terrible, Baldwin was just way better than anyone realized, still the staff thought Fields would pull ahead at the end of fall camp due to his upside and getting comfortable with the offense. But during the spring, if we had to win now in the big house, Baldwin would have gotten the nod. I think Baldwin transferred because he was frustrated, he felt like he was outplaying Fields and still wasn’t getting enough 1st team reps. He felt like the writing was on the wall and that he (no matter how well he played) would not start because of how ridiculous Fields upside is, even if his production wasn’t matching Baldwin’s yet.
Baldwin’s decision: Both QB’s were told at the end of the spring that a decision had not been made and that they would both battle for the starting spot during fall camp. Baldwin at this point felt disrespected and undervalued by the media and fans as he was outplaying Fields and receiving little to no respect. He also felt like the coaches wanted Fields to take the reigns and be the guy MORE than they wanted the best man to win. He felt like even if he was named the starter he’d never be secure here. When he told the staff he was going to compliance to put his name in the portal it shocked the hell out of everyone and the staff was mortified. At this point Fields didn’t know the offense (don’t give a damn what was said or reported, he was a chicken running around with his head cut off) and Chug loved the frat parties more than football. The most game ready QB was off of the roster and everyone and I mean EVERYONE was freaked out. Then we got Hoak and that added security but a backup at Kentucky who didn’t have a single rep here heading into fall camp was never going to start here.
Fall camp: Fields was terrible in his first week. Awful. Lots of turnovers, not setting the proper protections and checking into the wrong plays based on the looks. There was a silent panick and it was very real. Going into week 2 Mike, Day and Dennis calmed him down, told him not every play has to be a touchdown, told him to forget about hype, accolades or media expectations and to JUST THINK ABOUT THE NEXT PLAY. He really became a student of the game and made mistakes but much less than week one. By week three he was a different player. He was calm, setting the right protections, making some more of the right reads and making plays. By the very end of camp he started to look like the starter we need.
Expectations: Guys, calm down. Remember that this kid has never taken a meaningful snap. Remember that he’s a wide eyed (basically) freshmen that has immeasurable pressure on him. He is not Dwayne yet. He is going to turn the ball over, make the wrong reads at times and have his head-scratching moments. He is also going to make someone miss and go 70 yards to the house at some point. He could very well throw a pick six on the next play. Bottom line, he will be what buckeye nation wants him to be someday, but right now he’s a work in progress.
Projected stats through 12 game reg season: 24 passing touchdowns, 2650 passing yards, 11 interceptions. Completing 61 percent of his passes. 9 rushing touchdowns, 780 rushing yards 6 fumbles, 4 fumbles lost.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
That would be best with the Playoffs set up the way it is now.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:18 PM ^
I creamed my trousers halfway through reading this.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:18 PM ^
I would rather the prediction be:
11 passing touchdowns, 2650 passing yards, 24 interceptions.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:34 PM ^
Better yet, 0562 passing yards.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:19 PM ^
Yeah okay whatever he's about to win the Heisman.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
Completely disagree. Gunnar Hoak will
August 20th, 2019 at 5:25 PM ^
I swear, that is basically the platonic ideal for a message board post:
- Tell everyone you're an insider but not THAT inside.
- Point out where everyone freaked out but also don't make them feel like they're insane.
- Give some insider talk about how the walls were crumbling and people in the know were concerned. Sprinkle in some discontent from a backup.
- Everything "clicks" and the superstar is humbled and becomes the leader your team needs.
I'm sure Fields will be good. He's also played against a single defense for about a month; I would hope he got better after seeing what are, I assume, predictable-ish patterns and getting more comfortable with everyone on the field. But I've followed enough football to know that there are guys who look lost early, then look better simply because they get more comfortable with the stuff they see on the field every day, and then lose their minds again when opponent throw them wrinkles.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:29 PM ^
I can't help but think of Troy Smith struggling so much as a sophomore and by the time he played us (they were 6-4 going into that game) he was torching our secondary.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:37 PM ^
In fairness he was also a mobility-oriented QB in 04 and basically any mobile QB with a pulse was going to burn Michigan's defenses under Lloyd Carr.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:07 AM ^
Except Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow.
August 20th, 2019 at 9:38 PM ^
Yeah, but Michigan hadn't met a mobile QB they could contain for the entire Carr era. So none of that surprised me.
Fields is very talented. I don't think UM fans should sit there and assume he'll suck by the end of the season. But I also think the assumption that a non-Meyer team can just plug-and-play at the QB position, especially a QB who may not be a great fit for the current offensive philosophy, is going to be tested this year.
August 20th, 2019 at 9:59 PM ^
The one glaring mistake the fake insider made was sharing the backup qb’s thoughts. He gave himself away when he started saying how Baldwin felt. Unless he’s the Baldwin kid himself, then he has no idea what the kid was thinking.
Living near Columbus and listening to sports talk, I could’ve wrote this story. Fields struggled in the spring, which was obvious just by his stats. Day was quoted as saying early in fall camp that Fields has not won the job yet and the defense was creating a lot of turnovers and had several pick 6’s in their scrimmage. Translation, Fields is throwing a lot of picks. Finally towards the end of camp Day names him the starter and said in the last week he’s made huge strides. The buckeye poster is a joke and apparently listening to ESPN radio I’m columbus makes you an insider. The one thing I’ve heard that he didn’t mention was Day saying the running game will have to carry the offense. So I do think Fields is struggling and all the talk about him improving in a week is to boost the kids confidence. I’m guessing they are going to struggle at qb this year.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:27 PM ^
The play better against us with their back up QBs anyways. Hell, if they get down to their third string, you would have to figure that they become title favorites.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
OSU runs such a basic offense that any talented QB will have success. Most OSU QBs stink in the NFL because they can’t handle a playbook with more than five plays in it. Plus this kid is surrounded by talent so it’s not like he’s in a Speight situation.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
It's different with day now. And they actually have a wr coach that teaches wrs how to run routes .
August 21st, 2019 at 12:08 AM ^
OSU QB’s have been bad because they were mobile running QB’s until Haskins. You need to be a pocket QB to play on Sundays, it hasn’t had anything to do with the side of the playbook.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:35 PM ^
Pretty skeptical here, and bronxblue's reasoning is hard to argue with wrt this post.
Even if there are kernels of truth, the over-dramatization of this (total panic, completely bone-headed week one, now he's a mature field general--it's a movie script, not an insider account of a college football training camp) doesn't tell me anything.
I'll believe Fields falls short of OSU's expectations when he walks off the field at Stadium and Main with a loss, and not before.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^
Haha the line that got me is that he wasn't a student of the game, but then he had a talk from Day and look now he is fixed! Look at him reading coverages and blitz protections!
I don't think it is going out on a limb to say that he's going to struggle, but then perform better as the season progresses. So his post is very fluffy. Just say he's not going to be as good as people's expectations are.
Fields' main problem is that he like many highly ranked QB's think his shit don't stink. That he can go out and ball out there. It's been pumped into his head the last 3 years. All these celeb QB coaches working on all this stuff that no actual QB coach would teach. There's a reason Harbaugh likes unmolded QB's that play a ton of sports and not just train as a QB year-round. It usually means they haven't been training since the age of 3 with some guy throwing foam sticks at them during 3 step slants.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:27 PM ^
This is my opinion as a dude who just finished watching last years QB1 on Netflix. Talented? Absolutely. But to say (in retrospect of course) that he would transfer after a semester at Georgia; yeah, you could see that coming.
August 20th, 2019 at 8:07 PM ^
You mean the same harbaugh that has yet to develop a single non-transfer qb in year 5? Do you think about what you post before hitting the save button? Christ on a push bike.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:39 PM ^
BTW this doesn't merit a thread on this board and it has nothing at all to do with this topic, but I feel like it's notable enough to be mentioned: Miracle on Ice star Mark Pavelich appears to be melting down and may be suffering significant mental health issues. He was arrested for a pretty nasty assault this week. No mention of it in the article, but he had a hockey career, wouldn't be surprised if CTE is involved.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:39 PM ^
This is a dumb post. Dude doesn't have anymore info that wasn't already known. Fields looked rough, apparently now looks better. We'll see in 11 days. If he's actually a qb (skillset wise) , he's going to get it and will be a tough out in November. If he's more of an athlete (playing qb because he's so athletic, rather than cerebral) , then he probably doesn't survive the season. If he's got a brain and work ethic, we'll find out early. Fuck Ohio.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
Interesting prediction of 780 rushing yards. That seems like a lot. I know he’s a dual threat, but I’m not sure how Ryan Day will utilize the QB in the running game, especially with JK Dobbins in the backfield. If he’s running a lot, that puts him even more at risk for injury.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:10 PM ^
He had a third of that in back-up duty last year, not so far fetched to see him get 800 yards or so. But you're right, we don't know how Day will work in the running game with the QB now that he has an elite runner like Fields. But we also don't know if Fields really is an elite passer like he was reputed to be out of HS. Small sample size in mop up duty isn't much to go on. He could be great, he could be average.
But regardless of his stats/season we can rest assured that OSU will have him playing at a Heisman level by the time they come to town; they're always prepared for us no matter what. Just hope Don Brown is too.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
Day cannot run Fields that much because they have a juice box and a yellow crayon on the bench behind him. No way he gets 800 yards. Fields won't be great for OSU, but the season is absolutely over if he gets hurt.
August 21st, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Except there is no evidence that running QBs get injured more...
August 20th, 2019 at 5:49 PM ^
So the knock from the Georgia guys that I've talked to on Fields is that he's lacking in accuracy/game management. They thought he relies too much on his athleticism and pure arm strength. You can get by with that in HS, but in college, that shit doesn't work.
All the tools are there, but he expected to waltz on in and be the chosen one. Everybody telling you how good you are can affect guys differently and he bought into the hype. Expectations are that he's going to be Trevor Lawrence because they were #1 and #2 in the class.
I'm curious to see him develop--does he take it seriously to get better and do all the work? I really think he would've been better off waiting and developing behind Fromm, but he wanted to play asap. But OSU fans thinking he's gonna come in like Haskins and light the world on fire might be yelling for the backup after a few weeks.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:58 PM ^
1. Was this written next Friday?
2. The "projected stats" is eye roll worthy. Give me a fucking break with that shit.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:59 PM ^
I am in favor of Fields being an average starter. Those stats probably mean at least two regular season losses. They are worse than Shea's stats from last year.
And I'll take at least two of those INTs and a lost fumble in The Game, please.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:48 PM ^
Yeah, I don't get all the talk that Ohio St is going to keep in stride with Ryan Day and Justin Fields.They might be like 9-2, or 8-3, by the time they play Michigan. They may be in a place where, even if they beat Michigan, they can't qualify for the BIG 10 Championship Game.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:59 PM ^
The comical absurdity of preseason predictions about the proportion of a player's fumbles that will be lost drove me to login to this site for the first time in years just to point out said absurdity.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:02 PM ^
Your ignorance made me login to comment.
This wasn’t a dumb post, I enjoyed reading it. That is all.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:15 PM ^
I hope Fields is the biggest flop in CFB but I just cannot base my prediction of OSU solely on one player even if he is the starting QB. They will find a way to win. They always freaking do.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
Ryan Day’s answers:
Q. Is there any particular reason why you didn't name a starter, just keep it as this is our guy? What was the thought process behind that?
RYAN DAY: I think any time you're naming a starter, they have to earn it. How do you earn it? You earn it by playing. It's very hard to earn a job in 15 practices in the spring. Walking into pre-season camp, you don't just give somebody a job. Never believed in that, never will. You have to earn it.
It's hard at quarterback. You need reps to really show what you can do. Coming out of the spring, Justin at this point had a good feel for the offense but certainly was nowhere near ready to be the starter for this offense.
After the first week, he really wasn't there. Made some mistakes, turned the ball over. Right now he's starting to scratch the surface. I still don't think he's where he needs to be. After this week, I think he played at a starter level, earned the job. We'll see where it goes from there.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:29 PM ^
Sounds like an OSU starting DL was seriously injured and likely requiring surgery. Hints and speculation it’s Cooper. Unconfirmed.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
Yes, I have heard Cooper as well.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:31 PM ^
As long as he can throw a crossing route he’ll be fine.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:43 PM ^
Oops, replied in the wrong spot...
August 20th, 2019 at 6:48 PM ^
Because this is how Michigan football goes, Fields is going to look awful the first month of the season...and then be playing at an all-Big Ten level when he comes to Ann Arbor
August 20th, 2019 at 7:00 PM ^
if an inexperienced OSU QB is supposed to alleviate Michigan fan's fears over the Game I have a couple prior matchups ala 2014/17 to refer.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:08 PM ^
He's not going to be that good.
Go watch the spring game. Baldwin was awful. He was unbelievably bad. He had no shot at starting. And yet. If he'd stayed, I bet he and Fields would still be fighting for the job.
In that first Fall scrimmage, 2 pick 6's were thrown. Nobody has said who threw them, which tells you exactly who threw them.
From there I'm guessing they simplified everything. That's why Fields can call protections now, because anyone could. He still doesn't know what he's doing. Rumor at UGA was he never studied the playbook. Does the description in the OP sound like someone who studied the playbook? The offense is hard to pick up for anyone, even Haskins said so.
Now watch Fields in the spring game. His one good throw was a heave to starting WR Benjamin Victor against a white kid walk-on from a Cleveland private school.
OSU has a real problem at QB. They're hoping his athleticism and the athletes around him will make everything ok. And it will, against FAU. Bet the under season win total hard. Four new offensive lineman, zero RB depth, a first year head coach, and a 70 year old new DC trying to fix a bad D are not great things to pair with this QB. He may be great someday, he won't be this year.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
I wish I could upvote you 1000 points for this response. Even though the BPONE in me will always give OSU the benefit of all doubt this is a very logical outlook.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
can someone explain why he was so highly rated by recruiting services? i know they look at potential but they don't just make someone one of the highest-ever rated QBs on pure athleticism; he had to have already shown some next-level skills to be the third highest-ever rated QB to 247 (since 2000). were the recruiting services just going overboard?
August 20th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
Not all the shit they throw sticks.
August 21st, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Is that what the guy meant by Top 10 all time? One of the ten highest grades ever given out to a QB (at least in the current era of recruiting)? That’s nuts. Hopefully his career is more Jimmy Clausen than Trevor Lawrence/Tua...
August 21st, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
in the last 20 years, only vince young and trevor lawrence were rated higher according to 24/7. that's what has me concerned that practice reports are misleading and he's gonna be real good. who knows though.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:23 PM ^
eh, fuck OSU
August 20th, 2019 at 7:35 PM ^
I had him at 2,680 yards passing, but I haven't been paying such close attention.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:47 PM ^
I believe he is an OSU insider, because he can't spell the word Panic.
August 20th, 2019 at 7:52 PM ^
Baldwin did look better in the Spring Game FWIW. Fields is like Joe Milton as a thrower - raw and inaccurate at times and has trouble making reads past the first option.